TEHRAN-- Folios of an unusual French prayer book, going back to the 16th century, has been placed on show at the library of the Niavaran Cultural Historical Complex in northern Tehran, CHTN reported on Monday.
The Book of Hours of Louis of Orleans is a masterpiece decorated by a French master, Jean Colombe and the staff of his studio for Louis Duke of Orleans, the later King Louis XII.The artists were directed by the work of the painter Jean Bourdichons, one of the most prominent French illuminators of the Middle Ages.Alongside numerous sophisticated minis, the pages of the work are decorated with elaborately decorated bordures with floral decorations, and images of birds, unique animals, and fantastical monsters.Parts of the manuscript function aphorisms, which record the themes of the prayers and miniatures.
Today, the superb small codex is regarded as one of the most outstanding manuscripts to be produced during the French Renaissance.
King Louis XII of France, a great fan and customer of the arts, signed the codex when he was still the Duke of Orleans.Books of hours were most likely the most popular book category of the Middle Ages.
The codices were made for prayer and private commitment and were particularly widespread amongst the nobility.Covering a location of about eleven hectares, Niavaran Cultural-Historical Complex is composed of numerous landmark structures, museums, and monuments built in the 19th and 20th centuries throughout the Pahlavi and late Qajar ages.
The history of the palace complex extends back to about 280 years ago when Fath-Ali Shah of the Qajar Dynasty bought a summertime house to be constructed over the then countryside area of the capital.
The two-story Ahmad Shahi Pavilion is among the highlights of the complex.ABU/ AM